Eclipse
by samocoptor
Summary: An unlikely duo come together to overcome a terrorist plot that threatens the whole of Vale. Rated M for Implications, strong language, violence, and just generally more creative liberty.
1. Act 1 - An Unlikely Partnership

_**Author's Note:-**_

_Hey all, thanks for deciding to give Eclipse a read, this is my first real crack at fan-fiction and the first time I've done any proper writing for quite a while; if you have any feedback I would love to hear it. I hope you all enjoy this and decide to keep reading as I expand. _

_That's all, enjoy!_

* * *

The sun dipped below the horizon of the evening sky, the rocks along the floor of the desert wasteland glinting as if they were gold; the light breeze blew around small amounts of sand and carrying the chill of the on-coming night. A single train thundered through the solitary tracks, a distinct crack in the otherwise monotonous browns and oranges making up the floor it sat on; a train destined for a town out of the eyes of civilisation.

Shinewater, once a proud town built around a prosperous dust mine that acted as the flagship for large-scale industrial mining of the precious resource; now a backwater shanty laying on the fringes of the civilised world in the vast wastelands of rural Vacou, long dry of any fortunes it may have held before except as a refuge for those on the wrong side of the law.

A stranger stood out on one of the train's balconies, her platinum blonde hair being blown by the wind thrown aside by the locomotive's speed; the black overcoat flapping wildly behind her and the snow white trimmings catching the faint sunlight, a faint tint of the golden light on it. Her purple eyes gazed out into the desert, searching for the small town in which her objective sat waiting; information, and what better way to get information than from a hive of the black market?

She spied a pack of dark, animalistic figures dashing throughout the wastes, the Jackal-like Grimm on the hunt for their next prey, her hand instinctively reached for one of the guns holstered at her side, looking up at a sign hanging by a couple screws off the wall of the carriage beside her, respectfully asking passengers not to use their firearms onboard the train. Sighing to herself, she pulled her hand away and back onto the rail.

The woman heard footsteps beside her, a soft tapping almost drowned out by the rumbles and crashing noises of the train roaring along the tracks. Turning to face the source, she was greeted by a teenager dressed in a shabby uniform holding a piece of paper. Clearing his throat the boy looked up at her.

"You're Xaio Long, right?" He asks, a clearly bored tone in his voice warped slightly by a piece of gum lodged in between his teeth. Clearly one of the orphan lads that came out of one of the many whores who waltz the streets of Shinewater on a regular basis, put to work from a young age to support themselves.

"That would be me, yes." She replies sharply, glancing at the boy up and down quickly; checking for a weapon too, nobody was trustworthy in these places, even the kids... especially the kids, they're not the ones you expect to pull a knife on you.

"Fare's due." He hands her the piece of paper he was holding, showing a small sum for her to pay, nodding at the kid, she pulls out the correct amount of currency and passes it into his outstretched hand, counting it he places it in a small pouch on his waist, slipping a few of them into a smaller one behind.

"We arrive in ten minutes, better grab your stuff." He passes the nonchalant comment in her general direction before heading back into the carriage behind them. She didn't have much except the cash, clothes and weaponry she had on her, she didn't plan on staying in the town for longer than she needed to.

* * *

A slender figure briskly approached Shinewater's main attraction, the usual haunt of most of the residents; the Dusty Rock Saloon served as a place for fugitives to wash away their sorrows with strong drinks and as an area of common ground for all those in the town; it actually hailed back to the prosperous days, when people actually acknowledged the town's existence.

"Makes sense that he'd pick somewhere like this." He mutters to himself, striding into the building and making a bee-line straight for the bar, a burly tattooed man tended the counter and walked up to the new arrival after a couple of minutes.

"What can I get you?" The bartender asks, a slightly impatient tone in his voice.

"Grimm Thursday, easy on the ice." The other replied, giving the bartender a knowing glance, who realised the code almost immediately and walked over to a strongbox below the counter, unlocking it and reaching in, he pulled out a key and hands it to the stranger.

"Guess I owe Wolfe a little something, I expected the other one to make it first." The bartender commented quietly, beginning to walk away.

"Other one?" The stranger replied, the man merely shrugged and turned his attention a new group of customers at the bar. Standing up off the bar stool, he begins to walk out of the saloon, exiting and heading towards a small cluster of shops for an alley in between a run-down dust store and a smoking gambling shop.

* * *

Xiao Long walked through the main road of Shinewater, if it could be called that. An expanse of dirt, sand and rock between two rows of buildings hardly cries sophistication. Nevertheless, she had to be here whether she liked it or not, but she wanted to make it take as quick as possible. Continuing down towards Dusty Rock, she notices a stranger figure walk out and head towards the agreed location her informant was at.

Focusing on the person walking, she winced in apprehension and she felt her hand reach for her firearm; she recognised the air he gave off, the strange fluctuations in his aura. Initial hatred on sight fell into a sudden realisation.

_The Grimm Shadow found Wolfe already? This is bad, an assassin sent to tie up a loose end. I can't let that happen until I've got what I need to know._

She withdraws one of her weapons, Dawn, and begins following the assassin. He eventually turns into the alley that leads to the informant's apartment, confirming her suspicions further, staying hidden so as not to arouse his attention until she was ready. He reached the staircase at the foot of the building and she saw her opportunity, rising out of her cover she begins to aim Dawn at his back; however mid-motion notices his two glinting eyes staring right at her.

"You're shit at stealth." He remarks, turning to face her properly, continuing; "I'd recognise those robes anywhere, what's a Lightbringer doing in a backwater like this place?"

"Quiet, I don't fraternise with animals." She snaps back, glaring at him vindictively, clicking the safety off of Dawn and reaching for Noon, an identical firearm strapped to the other side of her.

"You're not here to kill him are you? That'd be a problem for me, and I don't see one of you lot actually considering one of us worth your time." He asks, throwing a quick glance at the door to the apartment at the top of the stairs.

"Isn't that what you're here to do, Shade?" She retorts, throwing a menacing stare in his direction. He gives a small, obviously deliberate wince.

"Please, I'm in the same boat as you; I tend to stay clear of animals." He replies, returning the stare but with much more apathy; giving a brief sigh he continues. "I'm just here to ask a favour of my old friend." He pauses for a second. "You didn't answer my question."

"He knows something I need to know, I have no intentions of putting a shot through his skull. I'm here on his request." She replies, tensing her grip on her guns and holding her glare. The cool night time wind grazed their heels as they stood in silence, studying each other. It took a while, but eventually the quiet was broken.

"We probably shouldn't keep him waiting. He hates that." The man remarks, taking a step in the direction of the apartment stairs; only to be rooted once again by the click of a safety trigger being switched off.

"We're not finished yet." She says with a stabbing coldness.

"I have no intention of starting a fight, so lower your weap-" Interrupted by the sudden crash of something ballistic smashing into the side of the apartment, they both turn their looks upward at the small aircraft hovering over the small courtyard at the end of the alley; two missile silos on the side smoking from their recent shot.

"What the hell are Angels doing here?" Xiao Long shouts, stepping back as silhouettes began repelling down from the stationary ship, landing about 100 metres ahead of them.

"I don't know, but they want Wolfe." He replies, a quiet click coming from both of his wrists and turning to the woman beside him. "Look, it's obvious you wouldn't exactly be happy with the idea, but we're going to have to take them out together or neither of us will get what we want here."

"Fine then." She snaps reluctantly; the soldiers were getting closer, they had to act before they reached the stairs up to the contact. The two throw a glance at each other, before turning back and getting into combat stances.

"Name's Quacey by the way, or Q, whatever you like."

"Even if now wasn't a bad time, I don't give a damn."

"Thought it'd be handy to know."

"Shut it. Focus on them, not on formalities."

The brief dialogue was cut off by the soldiers ahead coming to a halt, raising their weapons at the duo; an auburn headed woman stepping out from behind the main bulk of the group. Looking the two up and down, she reaches for the tanto lying at her belt and unsheathes it.

"Who are you two? You have no business here." She snaps, the men around her readying their weapons; her blade folding in on itself to form a small repeater pistol. One of the soldiers at her side turns to her. "Ma'am, they match the description of the ones command told us about." She looks at him, then back at the two before them. "Is that so? In that case..." She raised her pistol and aimed at Xiao Long, who had turned her back to face the ones going behind them; smiling, the captain pulled the trigger.

The crack of the shot.

The soft glide of an unsheathing blade.

The rush of air from the sudden dash.

The sound of steel impacting steel.

It happened in an instant, Quacey moved in an instant, extending a blade at his right wrist to deflect the shot flying towards his ally's head. Without leaving a second to spare, he leapt into the main crowd in front of him while the soldiers began firing at the duo. A thundering roar came as Xiao Long fired, the spark dust igniting and sending a double-barrelled shotgun shock blast from both Dawn and Noon, sending their two targets flying and arcing electricity to the ones surrounding them; hurling herself forward at the ones directly in front of her.

Quacey threw himself into the crowd, spinning mid leap to force them to scatter or die; picking his first target he stepped to his right and delivered a brief slash from the abdomen up to the Adam's Apple, immediately turning to the next and bringing his blade to meet the bayonet of the soldier's rifle, locking steel for the brief second needed to deliver a swift stab to the neck. _Three left._ He thought to himself; the commander and two others, one aiming their shotgun, the other doing the same with an automatic rifle; not giving them the opportunity to shoot, he vanishes in a whirl of black smoke, re-appearing at the side of the first soldier, turning the shotgun in his hands causing the shot-in-progress to be directed at the other; after which he brought the shotgun up to the man's neck and wrenching it swiftly to the side to break his neck.

Xiao Long delivered a quick stab to the gut of a soldier, withdrawing it and twirling around him and firing into his back with Dawn while shooting another with Noon. With the swing of a baton, a third tried to strike her from behind, hearing it travel through the air, in the blink of an eye she squatted down and leant back, blocking it with the blades stemming from her gun's barrels. Rolling back and throwing her feet upwards she deals a double kick to his face and rolls back onto her feet, slashing the throat of the man and turning to her next target.

Rolling aside to dodge the rapid shots of the captain's pistol, Quacey looked at his opponent while running towards her, vanishing in instantaneous flashes to avoid the gunshots flying at him. Tucking to the side towards one of the bodies of the soldiers he had already dealt with, a brief kick sent it airborne; taking several shots and then being used as a projectile to stagger the captain, dazing her for a split-second on contact. Using the brief window, he dashes forward and stamps her knee, causing her to stumble and lose her balance, almost tripping; another kick to the back of the shoulder disarms her and a final slash along the area below her arm sends her tumbling. With one final movement he stabs into the back of her head, the tip of the blade emerging just below the top lip.

Xiao Long pulled the blade of Noon from the chest of the last soldier, turning to see Quacey pulling his blade out of the captain's skull; looking at each other and their bloody handiwork, they throw glances at all of the soldiers, checking for any signs of survivors. Satisfied, they both sheathe their weapons and give each other a brief nod before rushing up the stairs; through the gaping hall in the wall where the missiles struck, they could see the man they were here for, Wolfe, sitting in a charred armchair. The door to the apartment had been smashed down with brute force; clearly one had managed to slip by the fight and tried to confront the man alone. They only had to turn around a corner to see that it didn't work out well for him; looking at the rugged man in the chair, he stands to greet them.

"Quite the impressive display there; you Lightbringers really do live up to the hype, Xiao Long? Xia? Whatever you want to be called."

"Xiao Long is fine." Xia replied with a clinical sharpness.

"Well, good job Xiao Long." Turning to Quacey, the man smirked. "It's been a while, Dugald. Glad to see your skills haven't gotten rusty since the last time we've talked." Wolfe chuckles, offering his hand to the young man.

"It seems you've become no less adept at handling yourself either." A small grin crosses Quacey's face as he accepts the handshake.

"Excuse me for interrupting this heart-warming reunion, but I don't have the time for formalities. Get to business." Xia snaps, following it with a brief sigh.

"Right you are; both of you are here to find out what's got the Grimm Shadow in such a rush these last few months, correct?" Wolfe replies calmly, reaching for a few sheets lying on a table in the corner of the room. "Well, I can't tell you why they're doing it; but I can tell you what they're doing and where the organisation's operating from."

"You made me come here just to tell me about some petty terrorists causing trouble in Vacou? We already know where and how they operate." Xia countered an air of impertinence in her voice.

"You'd think so, but unfortunately no cigar. Something's changed; they have more numbers, better gear and a plan that lies above the usual shock and awe they've gained their infamy for." Wolfe handed her one of the sheets; a classified message embroidered with the seal of the Children of Grimm and directed at an anonymous title. "It says it right there in plain black and white, something's going to happen in Vale; if you want to pick up your trail, look there."

"What would they want in Vale? They've been centred in Vacou as long as the Children of Grimm have existed." Quacey remarks, throwing a glance at the sheet.

"That's the main gist of it, there's some more of the details in what I've given you there." Wolfe states, sitting back into his chair.

"Well, thank you Mr. Wolfe. This information will be put to good use." Xia answers, folding the sheets and placing them in a pocket of her overcoat.

"A word of advice, neither of you are good enough to take this on alone; but seeing you two out there gave this guy an impression that you two would make a pretty decent team, I imagine some mutual co-operation would work out well for both of you. Just a bite of food for thought." Wolfe remarks, hastily adding on the last part after receiving a cold stare from Xia.

"Sounds like a good idea. Two guns are better than... er... none, I suppose." Quacey jokes, indicating his lack of firearm. "Humour aside, I'll be a lot less conspicuous than you and in the types of places we'll be looking into to, you want someone who can blend in. Someone used to living in the less-than-savoury world inside Remnant." Looking angry for a moment before signs of hesitation, Xia gives a defeated sigh and looks at Quacey.

"Fine, but it's only because you have some skills which will be quite useful, and because we're looking into the same thing. I'm not happy about this arrangement; it just makes the most sense." Xia says, giving her new partner a blank stare; before it seems to flare to her cold manner again. "I'm in charge here though, remember that."

"That's fine by me." Quacey responds, nodding his head in acceptance.

"If the little bonding session is done, I need to get to work on fixing this place, get the hell out of my house." Wolfe says impatiently, yet with a slight hint of jest in his tone. Taking the hint, the two scarper out into the alley; stepping over the corpses they begin to walk out into the main street, the moonlight mixing the orange sand with a silver hue.

"How should I address you? Xiao Long seems a bit informal for partners." Quacey asks, looking at the woman next to him; her hair almost silver in the night.

"Just call me Xia; before you open your mouth, I'm calling you Q. Quacey sounds fuckin' ridiculous." Xia remarks to him, continuing to walk and not turning around.

The unlikely duo meandered down the deserted main street of Shinewater, towards the rundown train station that was their avenue out of the isolated town; their route back into the real world and the first step towards their goal of putting an end to the plot of the Children of Grimm. The winds picking up with a violent force, the two reached the train and chose an empty compartment to occupy, they were in for a long journey; both to civilisation and for their shared task.


	2. Act 2 - Dual Reflections

_**Author's Note -**_

**The reception to the first act was promising, it seems like those who have read it have enjoyed it. I warn you in advance that this chapter is mostly just character building and exposition but the plot will be picking up from Act 3 onwards; the start of the story's first 'arc' so to speak. These first two acts were mostly just to introduce the characters and get back into the swing of writing.**

**Also, sorry this one took a while to come out, I planned to do it within 5 days of the first act and I had about half of it done by then, but I just put off doing it for no real reason, but the speed at which I write should be picking up from now on.**

**Again, I hope you enjoy Act Two - Dual Reflections, and I welcome any and all constructive feedback! **

* * *

The soft morning sun began to rise over the horizon, dulling the hellish fires that had kept the rocky wasteland burning bright for the whole night; volcanic rocks slipped and crashed into each other as the magma underneath them shifted and bubbled, giving the scorched black earth the look of a colossal creature that lay sleeping as the ground. Duat is the western-most province of Vacou, a dying wasteland consumed by the volcanoes that rip the flesh of the land apart leaving nothing but lava and stone.

The piercing light of the sun's rays penetrated the thin blinds of the train's carriage; the flimsy material not doing much to pose a barrier for it, the light freely touching the two occupants of the cabin. Xia laid on one of the tattered seats lining the walls, the weathered maroon contrasting with the stark black of her robes and striking blonde hair; sleeping as soundly as she could as the train rattled and jerked, constantly bumping and shaking her around. The beams of sunlight grazed her eyes softly, slowly irritating her enough into a drowsy wake.

Quacey hadn't taken the opportunity to rest like Xia, they weren't the only ones onboard the train and the others were the sort who would be the first to cause trouble; even though they were the only ones in the carriage, it didn't hurt to have a look-out. Sitting in a relaxed manner, he stared out into the fiery planes they rode above; embraced in the deep expanses of the memory that shook him every time it entered his mind; no matter how much he tried to forget it his mind always brought him back to that moment.

A single blow was all it took, the man in a blind rage throwing a punch at the frail woman in the door; the crash of a skull hitting metal ringing grotesquely in the ears of the young Quacey, all he could do was look on in horror as blood pooled out of his mother's head, killed by the impact. The man stepped over the corpse towards the boy huddled in the corner, hands gripped into a fist and teeth clenched; a look of uncontrollable anger in the man's eyes.

Then all he could remember was darkness, then coming to in the same room, yet different; horrible scars of blood streaking the walls, a second corpse on the floor with flesh ripped to shreds by nail and teeth. Quacey stood over the man's body, shivering in absolute terror; he looked down at his hands and wincing at the blood they were drenched in. Looking back up, he looks at the mirror at its reflection; what he saw was a young boy with a gruesome ring of blood lining their mouth, aligning with the iron taste of blood in his mouth.

His eyes met the images, the red-tinted sheen hiding the twisted pupils, it almost seemed like they were smiling.

Hearing a tiresome groan beside him, Quacey jerked back into awareness; throwing a glance into the window of the train he saw his eyes, a silent breath of relief as he noticed them in their normal grey hue. Turning to the source of the groan, he watched as Xia rolled out of her make-shift bed and pulled herself up; eyeing the dark figure with an initial confusion followed by a flash of resignation as she remembered who he was.

"Good sleep?" Quacey yawned, turning to face the bedraggled woman standing before him; the robes slightly tattered and a mild case of bed-hair drove him to a slight grin.

"Shit sleep; what the hell's so funny?" Xia snaps, seemingly alert despite her manner.

"Nothing."

"Better be." She responds, walking towards the carriage's small washroom and locking herself inside, the sound of water running kept a silence at bay. "Know how far there is to go?" She asks.

"About 3 hours last time I asked, that was about half-hour ago; you do the math." Quacey responds in his normal nonchalant manner, pushing himself up and walking straight for the door of the carriage; hearing the click of the door Xia pokes her head out of the corner she was in, the sun catching the water droplets on her face. "Don't mind me, just getting some fresh air."

"Don't blame you; this cabin's stuffy as fuck." Xia shouted from the bathroom; gazing into the water pooled in the cracked ceramic basin below her, the reflection looking back at her rippled with the movements of the train, yet even with the distortion her eyes stayed strikingly still; returning her gaze. She let out a brief sigh to herself before pulling the plug and lifting her head up to face herself in the grimy mirror in front of her; the fatigued image of herself staring back, Xia breathed deep and turned away. _I need a break after all this. _Strolling to join the solitary figure out on the small balcony of the carriage, she pushed open the door and looked at her partner. _What the hell am I doing here with someone like him?_

_What the hell am I doing here with someone like her? _ Quacey thought to himself, turning to face the woman who had just joined him outside; taking a chance to study her appearance, the dark robes hugging the form of the amazon's frame. Standing at a considerable height only a couple of inches shorter than his six foot four inch body, the other obvious difference was that she had a stockier shape; not overweight by any count but nowhere near the slenderness of himself, and he had no doubt most of that mass was from muscle. The platinum blonde hair trailing behind her, flailing wildly with the wind of the train thundering on the tracks and the scorching gales of the Duat Plains.

"Not much better out here, I'm afraid." Quacey states, Xia turning around to face him; she gives him a momentary thoughtful gaze, before blinking back into her usual cold glance.

"I didn't expect much more from this place; it felt crap on the way to Shinewater too." She replied with a dismissive breath, sweeping the fringe from her face and revealing the vivid purple eyes that lay beneath.

"You don't carry the usual business-like demeanour of the average Lightbringer, do you?"

"I just had the worst night of sleep I've had for a good while, of course I'd be grouchy."

"Fair enough." He responds, looking at her face; he notices a slightly apprehensive look on it and thinks for a moment. "You look like you want to say something."

"Who are you?" Xia blurts out, containing herself for a moment then collecting herself. "You claim you're not with the Grimm Shadow, but all of you are. In fact, what the hell are up with you all anyway?"

"Us? As in Shades?"

"Of course 'as in Shades'! What the hell did you think I was talking about?"

"I dunno, just seems like a redundant question considering your training; you'd know all about what we are." Quacey tensed his grip on the rail slightly; Xia looked for any kind of meaningful emotion on his face, only to be met with the same apathetic nothingness he seemed to carry.

"Obviously, but I've always been curious how they see themselves." She elaborates, Quacey glances upwards and their eyes meet for a brief second, before he turns his glance upwards at the sky, wincing as the sun catches his eye.

"Well... most people consider us monsters, abominations, for what we are; the blackened marks in our flesh setting us aside from everyone else, the hatred of the Grimm makes us outcasts by nature. The majority hate that the world sees us that way and try to embrace our difference, take that as a reason to fight for respect like the White Fang do for the Faunus. Some of the more rational ones see us for what we really are; there isn't much that separates us from the creatures of corruption you find out in the wild... aside from our awareness and restraint, us and them are one in the same; we either hate ourselves for it, or ignore it."

"Well, I haven't seen you gouge out anybodies throat or tear them to shreds; I'd say there's some difference between you..." Xia stopped as she saw Quacey turn his head away, staring at the rails below the train; a harsh expression on his face. "Did I touch a nerve?"

"It's something along those lines." Quacey replied wistfully, returning his view to the woman in front of him; she looked uncomfortable, he decided to change the conversation. "So where do your roots lay, Lightbringer?" She faced him, their eyes meeting.

"The usual, they see a kid interested in becoming a hunter with a powerful light aura; kid gets shipped off to the prestigious Zenith Academy to become a glorified exterminator. I wanted to be a huntress, ended up as a tool to be used as pest control." Xia spat the last sentence; turning her head and giving an inquisitorial stare, she began to reply. "What about you?"

"Seems we've both trod the generic path for what we are; I was left as an orphan for my nature, treated like shit in an orphanage and left as soon as I could look after myself; doing odd jobs to get by until I was old enough to do some small private investigation work." Quacey said the words of his early life with venom in his voice; the words weren't a lie, just not the entirety of his history.

"You're stuck on a job with all this as well then?" Xia asked.

"Not entirely, this is all on more of a personal whim; I've always had an axe to grind with the Grimm Shadow, I tend to keep an eye on what they're up to... and something's gotten the hive kicking as of late; naturally I started looking into it." Quacey replied, leaning forward as a plume of smoke and hot air erupted behind him.

"Well, your business is yours, I guess." Xia sighed, crossing her arms and gazing out over the plains of the Duat.

"Yeah." The short gesture of agreement was met with a short nod from Xia, still looking away from the train; Quacey shifted to get a more comfortable position on the railing, taking off the thick scarf he wore and revealing the top of his coat, the dark brown collar relaxing out as it's freed of its confines. The thin jacket was made of smooth wool and went down to his waist, over it he wore a jet black overcoat that was made of a light-weight material; clearly intended for someone who relied on mobility.

"Say... did we just have a moment?" Quacey asked this apprehensively, cracking his knuckles under the fingerless black gloves. Xia's head snapped back to face him incredibly quickly, the cold glare returning and some kind of emotion pouring in. Quacey debated with himself, could he see rage? Embarrassment? Defensiveness maybe? Before he could think further, she pushed herself up and stormed into the carriage again, slamming the door behind her.

"Guess emotional connections aren't her thing. Works for me I suppose." Quacey whispered to himself, making sure his apparently touchy companion wasn't in earshot; slumping his shoulders in resignation, he turned and leaned outward onto the railing. Turning to briefly glance at the woman sitting in the opposite corner of the carriage, he turned back out at the volcanic landscape flying past the train. _She's almost as volatile as this place._

* * *

The time passed quickly and without any events of note; before they knew it, their silence was broken by the screeching of brakes as the train ground to a halt inside the station, and the sound of the outside hustle and bustle awoke them from their bored stupor. They hadn't spoken a word to each other between their suddenly halted exchange and the arrival, however seeing the necessity of some conversation, Quacey ended the mental standoff.

"What now?" He asks, pulling back on his scarf and threading his hands into his overcoat's pockets, turning to look at his partner.

"This town has a ship port, we go there." Xia replied sternly, giving him the same glare that he had been receiving for the last two hours, when he had caught her looking at least.

"Sounds good to me." Going with the quick route of conversing to try and ease some of the tension, Quacey then began reaching for the door of the carriage; he looked over his shoulder at Xia, who was still sitting on a seat in the corner. Exhaling deeply, he began walking out towards the steps leading that led to the platform. "If you don't hurry up, I'll leave you here." He shouted in the general direction of the open door; turning to glance at him for a moment, Xia stood up and made her way out onto the dusty platform beside the train.

"Get going then." Xia snaps at Quacey, pulling out a small holographic device from a pocket at her hip, expanding the screen and pressing several buttons on the display; bringing up a live map of the town they found themselves in. "The port is close, should be a short walk."

"Alrighty then, you take the lead." Quacey replies apathetically, glancing around the old station; especially at the various indications of older Vacuan architecture, he had always liked their flare for the overly-dramatic.

Heading along the path set out by the scroll Xia held, they proceeded through several streets worth of markets that seemed to be flogging all matters of wares; from home-smithed weaponry to shoddy attempts to pass of various substances as a diverse spread of different rare forms of dust. Xia looked at one of these stalls and snorted to herself, enjoying a brief chuckle at a sign that read 'Refractive Dust! 250 Aurum per Flask!' Noticing her stifled laughter, Quacey enquired as to the source of her amusement.

"Some poor sucker will think he's getting a bargain on a rarity, and end up with a bottle of broken glass." Xia said, turning her view away from the market stall and continuing on her way, with Quacey trailing behind and taking in some of the views. Eventually they turned the street corner that allowed them to get a good look at the city's airship travel port; they quickly closed the distance between them and it, entering the grandiose terminal to see a hotbed of activity and frantic movement. The masses of people itching to get from the ground onto an airship off to some part of Remnant, only a flurry of colour at the bottom of the steps the duo found themselves watching from the top of.

The two made their way down the steps, heading to a booth without any kind of queue; the plaque above it reading a simple job description: 'Hunter Travel Authenticator', all it really meant was a guy sat on a chair making sure Hunters and Huntresses got onto their flights. The man in question looked quite young, and had seemingly fallen asleep on the desk they were working at, business evidently slow for him; giving a forceful rap on the window he jerked upwards to attention, brushing down his creased uniform.

"Welcome to the Southern Vacou International Airship Port; could you two show authentication to verify your Hunting status please?" The request was met immediately by Xia, fishing out a small golden card bearing the seal of the Vale Royal Family, stating her occupation as a Huntress; turning to Quacey, she begins waiting in anticipation of how he would handle the situation.

"And you sir..?" The man's sentence cut off as Quacey produced a tattered black card, bearing a white stripe signed with the official brand of one of Minstrel's various Tsars; declaring that he too was a Hunter. _He's actually a Hunter?_ Xia almost spoke aloud out of surprise; she had expected him to try something with a bit more shadiness around it instead of pulling out official documentation. As the two started heading towards the gate they had been told would take them to Vale, she gave him a curious glance.

"What's up?" Quacey asks, returning the look as they continued walking, turning every few seconds to check they wouldn't walk into anybody. Xia cleared her throat, looked around and then turned back to him.

"You could have told me you were a Hunter."

"I would have told you if I was."

"Wait, what?!"

"I had a favour to cash in with a Tsar of Minstrel after doing some work for him, this thing was meant to be revoked after all was good and done, but he let me keep it in lieu of actual payment; I tell you, it pays for itself." Quacey pulled out the card again, looking at its metallic sheen under the artificial lights of the gate they were walking through.

"I'm pretty sure it's illegal to declare yourself a Hunter when you aren't." Xia replied, stiffening up slightly and looking away from him, choosing to further voice her annoyance through actions rather than words.

"You say that like we didn't kill an entire squadron of Vacou's elite soldiers; pretty sure that's illegal too." The quick retort shattered the high-and-mighty posture Xia had put up, she turned to him wide-eyed and mouth slightly open in shock; she looked more concerned than angry.

"Shut up, don't talk about that in public."

"Don't give me a lecture on ethics in the future then, 'kay?"

Giving a brief sigh, Xia hunched her shoulders in resignation and glanced at him, before returning to her usual manner and stance. "Fine." Digging her hands into her overcoat's pockets, she gives Quacey a nod to grab his attention before nudging her head to their left, indicating the gate they were heading for.

The duo made their way onto the airship moored at the port, the dull grey passage leading to a rather exquisite hall which served as the main chamber of the airship's passenger deck; the ornate dark wood lining the floors was accented by extremely detailed mosaics that illustrated many parts of Vacuan history, colourful accounts of heroes beating back the creatures of Grimm made up the majority of the stories they could see. The rich oranges and greens of Vacou's flag could be found in the furniture over the room, serving to bring some life to the otherwise pristine room.

They proceeded to make their way to the airship's information kiosk, a large map made from gold layered onto a fine white opal which held the layout of the vessel's interior; identifying the route to the Hunters deck, an area reserved especially for, as the name implied, Hunters and Huntresses. They made their way there and found themselves in a room not unlike the main hall, although the walls were strewn with portraits of some of Remnant's most renowned and legendary combatants against the Grimm. Not many Hunters had business out in such a remote part of the Vacou, a relatively rural province of the kingdom that rarely had notable Grimm excursions; this meant that there were few other inhabitants of the cabin.

Deciding on a small booth in the deck's bar, Quacey and Xia sat down on opposite sides of the opal table; taking off her overcoat beforehand, revealing a short-sleeved grey tunic with small amounts of golden embroidery; standard under-clothes for a Lightbringer, fitted to suit her form. She also removed the various straps of the combat harness she wore, consisting of her holsters and anti-projectile vest. Resting her elbows on the edge of the table, she immediately pulled back with a wince before slowly laying her arms back down with a hint of apprehension.

"What's up?" Quacey asked, after watching the small movement with curiosity; Xia looked up to reply, opening her mouth, but no sound came out; she quickly turned away from embarrassment.

"Table's cold." She muttered, turning her eyes but not her head in a subtle attempt to make sure he didn't laugh, he merely shrugged and pulled out his scroll; releasing her breath in relief, she regained her composure and faced him again. "What's our plan when we get into Vale? We have no leads except what Wolfe told us."

"I was just about to bring that up, actually. I have a friend who's an informant for one of the many Faunus clans who make up the Vale Faunus Mafia, he's one of their best too; if I ever need to know about something happening in that Kingdom, I just give him a visit." Quacey replied, standing up after he finished and sliding out of the booth; reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the black card.

"Strawberry Sunrise, no ice. Thanks for the offer." Xia called out to him, he wasn't facing her but he simply stopped, shrugged and started walking up to it again. After a few minutes had past, he made his way back holding a bright yellow drink with spirals of bright red crème and a glass filled with water with small chunks of dull yellow crystal in it; placing the first drink in front of Xia, he sat down with his own and took a sip.

"I said earlier about holding back on the ethics debates, that'll be a good idea for him as well; he's a light-hearted guy, but doesn't appreciate the good word." Quacey said nonchalantly, giving a quick chuckle as she threw her usual stony glare at him. "You know, it surprises me how someone whose combat style is so dependent on light is able to give such an ice-cold stare."

"Laugh all you want, I just don't appreciate being the butt of someone's joke." Xia replied, half snarling the other half. After taking a quick sip of her drink, she sat back and rested her hands behind her head, closing her eyes. "So we'll go meet your man, what happens if we don't find anything out from him?"

"Then we'll know the Children of Grimm are damn good at keeping secrets, which will be news; they never have been. I have no doubt he'll know enough to get us on our way." Quacey replied, glancing out of the window as the speakers linked to the captain's cabin of the airship crackled into life.

"Good Morning people, this is your captain speaking to welcome you aboard the Amber Falcon, we will be departing in just under 5 minutes, with no delays we shall be arriving at West Vale Airship Port within eight hours. Thank you for choosing Falcon Airships for your travelling experience, and we hope you have a pleasant flight."

"Eight hours? Looks like we're stuck with another long journey." Xia said, Quacey giving a simple nod in response before taking another sip from his drink, the dull yellow crystals fizzling with minute sparks as they melted; the strange substance was a simple mixture of ice and very small amounts of static dust. Xia gave a slight giggle at such a childish choice for someone who came across so unlike a child, Quacey looked up from his drink with a surprised expression on her face.

"She laughs! Didn't think you had it in you… what was so funny?" Asked the completely deadpan Quacey, the innocent enough question had Xia barely able to contain herself, standing up and reaching for her combat-harness, she strapped it on and threw her overcoat on over it.

"Nothing. I'm going to go have a practice on the firing range, I need to do something to pass the time." To which Quacey replied with a meek nod, still confused as to why she was laughing. "Come and find me if there's anything pressing." She added, turning and beginning to walk out of the small bar; Quacey placed his drink down on the table and slid down into a more relaxed pose, almost laying down.

"You know, for a Lightbringer you ain't all that bad." He remarked, gazing out the window; Xia turned her head to face the booth again and answered with a brief "Hm?" not hearing what he had actually said; in response he just held his hand up and gave a succinct wave, Xia continuing to head out to the firing range.

* * *

Xia found the shooting gallery to be fairly deserted, only one or two other shooters among the twenty available lanes; finding one suitable isolated from any contact, she pressed a small button which began to project targets onto the range. The monotonous shooting gave her a bit of time to think, and her thoughts drifted back to Quacey.

_What is up with him? One minute he's a sombre and reserved, 'mind in the game' type; the next he's surprisingly casual and easy-going… he actually made me laugh, that was surprising, I don't remember having anything to laugh about since before being sent to Zenith… not since the last time I was with her._

The last part of her train of thought drove a fierce snarl onto Xia's face, causing her to increase her fire-rate as her rage began to seethe into her movements and actions. _Stop it Xia, you told yourself she's dead to you, she abandoned you as soon as you got shipped off to that wretched school; you don't need to care about her anymore. _Taking a look at the two guns in her hands, she began to become slightly entranced by the firing and she began to relax as the rhythm of gunfire soothed her nerves.

The barrels of Dawn and Noon spun to life as she began alternating firing modes, rapidly spinning on their axis between both a sideways configuration akin to a double-barrel shotgun which released powerful bursts of charged static dust, and a vertical orientation which allowed small amounts of her light aura to be channelled through the refractive dust in the cartridge, being angled into a small crystal at the hilt of the blade which then positions it to release a small but powerful bolt of light at wherever she's aiming.

She continued at the shooting range for a while, eventually re-calibrating the angle of the channelling crystal in Dawn after noticing it had been knocked ajar during the fight with the Angels back in Shinewater.

* * *

Meanwhile, Quacey sat in the booth still, sunk into the burgundy leather seat and staring out at the clouds as they flew by the moving Airship; he was reflecting on many of the thoughts he hadn't had the time to process with all the hustle-and-bustle of getting between one transport and another, he wasn't wasting the opportunity to stop and think.

_What the hell could Grimm Shadow be up to? They've moved all their operations across an ocean and are posing enough of a problem that the Lightbringers actually have people investigating it. _Snapping back into some focus with the word Lightbringer, his mind drifted to the woman he was travelling with. _What is with her? She's not like the other ones I've come across, they tried to put a ray of light through me before I had a chance to speak; she hasn't… What's with you, Xia Xiao Long? _With that last question to himself, he felt his eyes begin to close as he fell into a sleep, no doubt uneasy like every other time.

* * *

**Whew, that was a long one; nothing like some good old character building! Dat angst in Xia's past tho.**


	3. Act 3 - The Bloody Trail

**_Holy fuck, I'm so glad to be done with this chapter. Seriously, writer's block is a bitch; this would have been out like 5 days after the second chapter but nooooo, my brain has to be a pain in the arse and stop me half way through._**

**_My track record isn't great so far, but I'm doing my best to try and get these out as quickly as possible; mainly because I want to get through this particular part of the story and onto the actual thick plotty stuff, y'know, the good bit._**

* * *

A sudden yawn coming from beside him brought Quacey back into the realm of the living, blinking his eyes open in a drowsy stupor, squinting and holding up his arm as the light of the evening sun shone through the window of the airship right into his eyes. The yawn that woke him came from Xia, who had just returned to the booth after an extensive session on the firing range, obviously exhausted from the training; throwing herself onto the opposite side of the booth, he slumped down and threw her head back, letting out another long yawn.

"You up now?" Xia said, still hanging her head back and stretching out her arms, the still half-asleep Quacey replied with a meek nod as he slowly pulled himself up and slid back into a sitting position. "You've been out a while, we'll be landing in Vale in about fifteen minutes, give or take." She added, leaning forward again and resting her arms on the table; Quacey blinked rapidly and let out a long yawn before facing her with a concerned expression on his face.

"I didn't do anything weird, did I?" He asked, eyeing up his partner looking for any hint that might give away that she was lying.

"Nope, not that I know of. Why?" Xia replied, answering with her own question wearing a curious expression; wondering why he seemed so wary about sleeping.

"No reason, just not the best sleeper." Quacey said absentmindedly, pulling himself up and wobbling a little on his feet before gaining his balance; adjusting his scarf and coat to make sure they were comfortable. "I'll be back momentarily; nothing like a blast of cold water to wake you up." His usual apathetic tone returning, he wandered off towards the deck's washrooms; barely missing the corner of a wall by dodging to the side at the last moment; the sight drew Xia into a brief smirk.

_Nothing, na-da, I can't remember the last time I slept and there was nothing. _Quacey splashed the cold water in his face as he thought, snapping him back into full lucidity; bringing his head up he looked into the mirror at the two grey eyes he was so acquainted with, the dull spheres a familiar and comforting sight to the wary man. _No red, thank goodness._ As if to scorn him, he could have sworn he saw them flash to the bright scarlet for a split-second; for that brief moment everything rushed back to him again, the blood, the seething anger, and the eerie sense of companionship from something he didn't want there; he winced almost in pain at the memory, forcing it back down and out of his mind.

Throwing another handful of cold water into his face, he felt his nerves to begin to calm down somewhat, allowing him to regain some of his composure and wipe the resentful expression from his face. _Well, better not keep Xia waiting, we have a busy day ahead of us._ With that last thought, he turned and made his way out of the pristine white room. As he made his way back, he took out his scroll and pulled up a map of an area on the suburbs of Vale's capital; the Burgundy Dale, the name of both of the city and the expansive valley it was housed in. Bordered in the north by the Emerald Forest and Beacon Cliffs, the city was a bastion of humanity, a true jewel of the world of Remnant.

Before he know it, he had found his way back to the booth where Xia stood waiting, spinning a small lanyard with some miscellaneous keys and utilities clipped on as well as the dark red card identifying her as a huntress; noticing her partner arrive, she released the lanyard from her finger allowing it to go up into the air, falling right into her hand.

"Ready? We'll be docking any second now. I don't want to have to wait around any longer than I have to." Xia asked, starting to walk out of the bar while looking expectantly at Quacey for him to follow; taking the cue and nodding, he started with a brisk pace to catch up. The two headed back to the main lobby as they felt the drag of the airship descending and the sharp noise of metal against metal as the docking braces moved to hold the vessel in place, ending with a violent tremor as the braces locked. The doors allowing for exit off the airship opened, and people began flocking off and heading out into the gate.

"Let's get going." Quacey said, after most of the people had vacated the hall; the duo made their way out into the airport and started towards the exit out into the Kingdom of Vale. Unlike the building they departed from, this port was much more alive and breathing; there were such thick crowds moving between gates and terminals that it was fairly difficult to notice anybody out of the ordinary, such as a suspicious man who had been watching their particular exit in wait. Upon noticing the duo make their exit, he pulled out a small scroll and opened up a messaging page.

_**Visual conformation of the Lightbringer and the blood-traitor, the tip-off was good.**_

A brief wait, then;

_**Understood. Meet up with Beo 2 and continue as planned. **_Pulling himself up from the café table he had been sitting at, the man made for one of the back exits in a brisk manner.

* * *

Reaching the gateway of the airport, Xia and Quacey made their way out and set their first step into Vale, vehicles of all kinds sprawled out over the complex of car-parks, hotels and other faculties; among the crowds in front of them was a glossy black limousine, a single figure leaning on it. The man wore a faded black suit jacket with a slightly tattered white shirt underneath, untucked and with several buttons undone at the collar; he also had on a pair of casual slacks in the same colour as the jacket, ending with a pair of extremely out-of-place baseball boots. Upon noticing the two approaching, a mischievous grin formed on his face as he threw himself up into a standing position with inhuman dexterity.

"Hey, 's been a long time since I've seen ya in the flesh Q" He said, holding his arms apart as he approaches Quacey, embracing him with one and patting him on the back with the other.

"It sure has been, Olivir; just wish this'd all be under more light-hearted circumstances." Quacey replied, reciprocating the gesture back at the faunus; pulling back and standing upright, he turned his head to look at Xia. "This is her, the one I was telling you about."

"So you're the Lightbringer, huh? 'tis a pleasure." Olivir said, smiling as he gave a respectful nod to the blonde and holding out his hand, met with an apprehensive one of her own; the two exchanged a brief handshake before Olivir turned and jerked his head in the direction of the car behind them. "We should probably be goin' now, not the best kinda place for our business." Ushering Quacey and Xia into the back of the limousine, he followed them in afterwards and sat facing them; with a quick tap on the divider between the driver's seat and the sitting area, they set off.

"Anyway, you guys wanted to know what Grimm Shadow are up to in Vale." Olivir asked, pulling off his trilby to reveal two light-grey fox ears which flinched at the sudden exposure.

"Yeah. You said you'd heard something." Quacey replied, leaning back into his seat and cracking his knuckles.

"Not much I'm 'fraid. They ain't been around long so all I've heard is whispers and rumours mostly, might be enough to send you on your way though." Olivir leant back and thought to himself for a moment. "There was one thing though, caught a couple'a grunts of theirs tryin' to hi-jack a small freighter doin' mafia business. Didn' take long for us to work out who they were workin' for, take a guess."

"Grimm Shadow?" Xia's answer was met with a quick nod by the fox.

"Grimm Shadow. 'n do ya wanna know what they were after? Red dust; and lemme get somethin' clear, the folks upstairs don't mess around, we only bring in the proper pure stuff; we were shippin' enough to light up a bleedin' city block." Olivir stretched his arms out and yawned before continuing; "Now, some'a them got away with a good bit of the stuff; the boss wasn't 'appy 'bout that one, I can tell ya."

Quacey's face turned from apathetic to curious in a heartbeat, turning to look at Xia. "What would they want with so much explosive?"

"Blow something up maybe?" Her answer was met with an irritated sigh from Quacey.

"Way to state the obvious; I 'magine he meant it as in 'what are they going to make go kablooey?'" Olivir interjected, speaking before Quacey had the chance.

"Well, not quite the wording I would have chosen, but that was the general gist." Xia rolled her eyes.

"Why would I know that? If anybody would it'd be one of you two." Came her reply, followed by her crossing her arms in mock aloofness.

"I don't know anythin', but once we get back to the Fox 'ole I'll give some of our guys a bell, see if they've heard anythin' new." Olivir shrugged, he simply had nothing else to tell them at the time being.

"Speaking of which, how's the old place been? Can't remember the last time I paid it a visit." Quacey asked, veering the conversation away from business and onto small talk and catching up as they made their way into a market area of the Burgandy Dale's suburbs. So engrossed in the conversation, none of them noticed the jet black vans following them.

* * *

_**We are following the quarry, Beo 1, 2 and 3 awaiting orders.**_

_**Continue following. Once they reach the destination, create a perimeter and conduct the plan as instructed.**_

_**Understood.**_

* * *

The drive didn't take long, before they knew it they found themselves pulling into a side alley which led to the small market area, devoid of activity thanks to the midnight moon looking over it; one of the shops surrounding the square was still bustling though, a small tavern with cheering and singing and all sorts emanating from it. Above the door there was a slightly tattered sign which read 'The Fox Hole'; the Fox Hole was a small bar operated by the Faunus Mafia, and served as one of the hubs for their informants.

The limousine pulled up outside of it, and the three passengers made their way out. "Welcome to m'little slice of heaven." Olivir pushed open the door and beckoned the other two in, an instruction they promptly followed; inside was a warm and cosy style pub, rather than the modern styled and sleek bars that one would find downtown in many of Vale's cities, it held a more old-fashioned interior; wood, leather and stone made up much of the interior, and there were various paintings on the wall depicting some of the proudest parts of Faunus history.

Waving to the many patrons and the bartenders, Olivir guided Quacey and Xia to an empty booth at the back; as they sat down, he gave a nod to one of the bartenders, who quickly went into the back room and came out moments later with a scroll, handing it over the counter to him before he made his way back to sit down with them.

"I'll ask some of the other informants if they've had any luck." The fox said, expanding the screen and opening various tabs; a girl with wolf ears came over holding a tray with three pints of golden cider, she smiled at them, showing her sharp canines unintentionally; Olivir looked up, smiled back and she scurried off to attend to another table.

"Waitresses too, huh? You must be doing well for yourself here." Quacey commented, taking one of the glasses and taking a brief sip.

"Yep, all the staff are Faunus from the community, I try to give the young adults among 'em opportunities to work. We've got to look after each other, y'know?" Olivir replied, turning his attention back to his scroll.

Each of the three black vans parked in one of the many side alleys that branched off of the square, their doors opened and each vehicle had seven or eight figures step out, all clad in black. One of them eyed up the Fox Hole, before turning to the others and motioning for them to move into pre-designated positions.

"Stick to the plan, we burn them out. Kill the blood-traitor on sight, capture the Lightbringer alive. All the Faunus are open season." The gruff tone whispered the orders, the figures nodded to confirm their understanding before scurrying to their positions.

Xia eyed up Quacey, they were sitting opposite each other in the booth with her back to the front windows; he was looking in her direction, but over her shoulder, a quizzical expression on this face. "What's up?"

"I don't know, I thought I saw something."

The group surrounded the outside of the bar, various clicks came from the guns they were holding as the safeties were turned off; the leader and two others beside him held flamethrowers, all of the weapons were pointed at the front. One approached the door, reaching for the handle but not opening it; the leader drew out a small incendiary grenade, smirking to himself.

Olivir's ears shot upwards at the faint sound of the clicks, even with the noise of the bar he noticed the noise. "No way." He had barely finished his statement when Quacey's eyes went wide and he turned to the two sitting with him. "EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" He shouted.

"Light 'em up." The gruff voice called out, the door opening as he threw in the explosive he held; hearing a yell as he did so, only to be drowned out as machine gun fire sprayed through the windows and countless Faunus were shot dead, fire bellowing through the door and setting the interior ablaze.

The three inside reacted immediately to Quacey's warning, ducking down behind the walls of the booth as projectiles flew all around them, the room getting torn up from the multitude of shots and the rapidly blooming fire. Olivir scowled as he watched the bar getting destroyed, two clicks coming from his wrists as metal plating slid down over them to form gauntlets; he winced as he heard the screams of the dying patrons.

"I didn't think they'd find us this quickly."

"Well, they fucking did and my stuff's all wrecked."

Xia cleared her throat as she pulled out Dawn and Noon, looking at the two. "Then we have to stop them wrecking your stuff; simple." Glancing around the ruined interior, she nodded to herself before turning back to Quacey. "Q, get as close to the door as you can without getting yourself killed. Fox-boy, stay put with me." They nodded at their instructions as they heard the gunfire begin to cease and the amount of bullets flying at them went down, Xia used the opportunity to pull herself up and begin spraying bursts of static energy at the front, Quacey used the covering fire to move up to the booth closest to the door. "Hey Q, these guys are Shades, right?"

"Yeah, obviously."

"Time to do something I haven't done in a while then." Xia pressed buttons on both Dawn and Noon, the barrels flipping to a horizontal position. "You don't want to get caught in the crossfire, this shit'll hurt you, a lot." She yelled, met with a single thumb-up from Quacey ahead of her. No sooner after he pulled his hand down did she began unleashing a hail of concentrated beams of light, her arms glowing with aura from the elbow down. Outside she saw several of the attackers fall almost instantaneously, another two getting caught before they could make it to cover. Taking their confusion, she pulls her and Olivir up and start running up to the door, on the opposite side as Quacey; the room beginning to get uncomfortably hot from the raging fire.

Quacey took charge from here, holding his hand up, counting down with three fingers, then two, then one. Xia stood up and fired a shock blast out of the window, Olivir and Quacey using the distraction to open the door and run outside to enter melee range. Olivir charged straight into the right wing of attackers, who had resumed firing at the now-approaching Faunus; tackling one straight to the ground, an action met with a satisfying crack of a skull fracturing. Doing a front roll to get back onto his feet, he turned and ran at another, smashing his fist into the figure's gut to wind him before grabbing the man by the collar, throwing him into the third. Dodging bullets from the fourth, he started running to close the gap and swung a punch, the attacker made a quick instinctive sidestep to dodge the clenched fist; however Olivir's right hand glove began to glow a faint lilac as he pulled it away, the man jerking forward from his sidestep violently and tripping towards Olivir's extended knee, which he brought up to meet the face which ended in several sickly cracking noises.

Meanwhile, Quacey charged the left flank of attackers, blades extending out from his sleeves as he briefly faded into a shadow as he leapt into the small group, passing through them before reappearing on the other side, impaling his left blade through the heart of one of the attackers; as he retracted it he brought up another to block bullets coming from one of the others, dashing in his direction and bringing the left blade up in a single slash, tearing right through the man's armour and leaving a deep, fatal cut along his torso. Without hesitation he spun around to parry the machete of a third assailant behind him, using the foot-long blades to repel the strikes from the large knife; using the blades to twist it out of his grip, Quacey grabbed the machete and stabbed the man through the chest.

Xia continued to unleash a flurry of light and static bursts on any remaining enemies, as well as the stragglers from Olivir and Quacey's sides. The searing light energy released from the two guns ripped through the armour and flesh of the numerous assailants, causing hallowing screams of pain to ring out throughout the square; even amongst the violence.

Quacey turned to face the last of the attackers in his vicinity, someone who was now quivering in fear and trying to back away from the Shade; Quacey dashed up to him, using a deft kick to knock the machine gun from his hands and picking up the man by the collar. Sizing him up for a brief moment, Quacey relaxed his grip slightly only for him to then slit the man's throat.

Meanwhile, Olivir had just finished with his group, the bodies of injured, comatose and dead assailants lying around him. He gave a brief nod to Quacey and Xia, whom had just moved outside of the flaming bar; running into the Fox Hole towards a fire extinguisher near the counter.

The only people left outside were Quacey, Xia and the apparent leader of the group; panning his head slowly to look at the numerous bodies of dead goons and sighing with resignation. "Fucking incompetents." He muttered to himself, eventually turning to face the duo in front of him. "You gonna kill me now, huh? Who's gonna do it? Bet you'd like to get some blood on your teeth, blood-traitor." Glancing at Quacey. "And I'm sure you're eager for one less of us in the world, Lightbringer." Smirking at Xia; he moved in the blink of an eye, pulling out a bowie knife and rushing Quacey, who brought up his blades to block the attack. The leader merely used that to his advantage, bashing them using the handle of the knife with animalistic force, causing the blades to fragment into many small metallic diamonds; before he could react, Quacey was pulled into a hostage position, the bowie knife now at his throat.

"Why not make it two, you bitch." A vicious grin on his face, obviously enjoying watching a shadow of doubt creep onto Xia's face, both Dawn and Noon pointed in his direction.

"If he's one of you, why throw him under the bridge too?" She snarled, tightening her grip once again.

"Why do you care?" Came the reply, Xia lowered her guns slightly as her face turned into one of shock more than anger; taking advantage of the moment of weakness, he swung the knife-holding hand round into a headlock, reaching for a tomahawk folded at his waist with the other. Realising what the man was doing, Quacey snapped back into focus having been slightly dazed by the unexpected assault; clenching his fists and pulling them inwards towards his chest, the scattered fragments of his blade began to rise off the ground, with a click of his fingers they zipped through the air and eventually the man's back, twisting mid-journey to increase the impact they had. Quacey felt the headlock loosen, using it to pull free and step away, bringing his left hand back and causing the small swarm of blades to hover slightly further in front of his fist. Throwing his hand forward, they flew right into the man's throat, slicing at the flesh causing blood to spurt from the various arteries and veins found there; he didn't last much longer, bleeding out on the ground.

"You alright?" Came the concerned voice of Xia, who stepped up to his side, looking down on the dead man.

"Yeah. What about you?"

"Why do you ask?"

"It seemed like he said something that got to you, I didn't really gather what because I was slightly out-of-it." Quacey rolled up his sleeves, the small flying diamond shapes sliding onto the brace over his forearms and sliding into position, forming blades the same shape as before they were broken.

"Yeah, it was nothing. More importantly, how the hell did you do that?" Xia asked, her voice dripping with curiosity.

"I don't know, I just can I guess. I put it down to aura, but I really have no clue." Came the answer in Quacey's usual roundabout manner. The two heard a loud curse come from the direction of the Fox Hole, turning to see the fire extinguished and Olivir sitting slumped on the ground next to the entrance.

"4 years it took me to get this place how it was, 4 fuckin' years and a lot of money. Then some assholes come and blow the place to smithereens." The disgruntled Fox could have continued ranting, had a loud beep not come from one of his jacket's pockets, pulling out the scroll his grimace got slightly deeper, before turning into a resigned frown as he looked up towards Quacey and Xia. "The other informants ain't got nothin' to help you. Sorry." Olivir sighed, pulling himself to stand upright and dialling a number in the scroll's call directory, presumably to message his superiors.

"Search the body of the leader there, see if you find anything useful." After giving the order, Xia headed off to one of the vehicles parked in an alley to see if she could find anything of relevance in there. Quacey began patting down the body to feel for any sort of scroll that he may have used to communicate, not disappointed after feeling a small device in one of the interior pockets. Pulling it open revealed the conversation between him and some kind of superior, clearly in the build up to the attack; trawling through the conversation, he came across one line that piqued his interest.

_**Your pick-up after the operation will be the Grimm Cordelia, Blueheart Dock.**_

"Xia! I found something!" Quacey called out, within seconds he saw the familiar blonde mane climb out of the second van and come running towards him, he stood up to meet her, highlighting the line in question and showing it to her as she got near.

"Blueheart?"

"Yeah. Some small class freighter port if my memory serves me well." Quacey went over to the scroll's navigation function and opened up a map of the Burgundy Dale, finding the port along its populated coastline.

"That would mean this 'Grimm Cordelia' is a boat. Don't see them for anything other than cargo and luxury nowadays." Xia made the apathetic comment before bending down and starting to look through the leader's pockets, eventually grinning when she found what she was looking for. The metallic clang of keys rung out as she withdrew them, nodding her head towards the closest black van. "Looks like we have a small road trip."

"So it seems. Go get it warmed up and I'll be along with you shortly." Quacey replied, turning and walking towards Olivir, who was hanging his head with his scroll dangling in his hand; Quacey grabbed it before it fell and patted the Fox on the back. "Are you alright?"

"No, how the fuck would I be? I put my life and soul in this place only to have it burned to the ground, the family's low on funds as it is so I can't get much help from them, and fourteen patrons and three staff died under my care." A long exhale was met with him slowly raising his head. "Quacey. Do me a favour mate."

"Anything."

"Kill those fucks."

"Was planning on it."

"Good man. Anyway, lassy's waiting." Olivir ended the statement with a brief nod of the head in the direction of Xia, who was standing next to the driver's seat of the van waiting for Quacey.

"Yeah. Let me know if anything else comes up, alright?" His question was met with a nod from Olivir, who began walking back into the now wrecked bar. Quacey walked up to the van and took in its form, a simple non-descript vehicle designed to be as inconspicuous as possible; a way of hiding the true intent of those inside.

"I assume he was asking you to spill some blood as a favour?" Xia asked as the two climbed in, her in the driving seat and him in the passenger one to her left; pulling open her scroll, she marked the location on her map. Noticing a solemn nod from Quacey, she gave him a quick smile before kicking the car into gear. "The Faunus tend to be very protective of their own, and we were the only non-Faunus in that place."

"Yeah. Protective." Quacey had a look in his eye, indicating he was lost in thought over something; Xia didn't press further, no doubt something in the past didn't sit too well with the mention of protection.

"Well, let's get going, we have a boat to catch." Xia pressed on the accelerator and the van drove out of the corner, onto the next step of the bloody trail.

* * *

_**Well, they've got a convenient plot device to lead them on their way now. Also, I like Olivir, hopefully I can find a way to work him in to something later down the line, maybe even his own fic at some point. Anyway, favourites and follows are appreciated as always, and I'm always welcoming constructive criticism; hope you enjoyed The Bloody Trail, look forward to Thrill of the Hunt.**_


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